European lawsuits over child suicide and self-harm caused by social media pile up
Cases are being heard before courts in Italy and France, while the family of a Scottish teen is part of a lawsuit in the United States.
As European countries decide whether to restrict social media for children under 16, a wave of legal cases similar to those in the United States against the platforms are starting to come forward.
Civil lawsuits brought forward by families in France and Italy allege that platform algorithms contribute to suicide and self-harm. Meanwhile, cases in the Netherlands and Germany target addictive design, child safety and manipulation.
In the United States, a California judge denied Meta and Google’s ask for a new trial last week in an addictions case, where both companies were ordered to pay a former young user $6 million (€5.17mn), according to US media.
The case argued that the platforms were negligent in warning young users about the potential harm extreme use of social media could cause.
We take a look at other court actions happening across Europe against social media companies.
Italy
Earlier this year, an Italian rights group battled it out with TikTok and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in a Milan court.
The class action lawsuit, the first of its kind filed in Italy, asks the court to force platforms to adopt stronger age-verification systems for users under 14.
The lawsuit is also asking the court to require that platforms publish more transparent information about how their algorithms work and remove anything potentially manipulative from their platforms.
The goal is to protect the roughly 3.5 million Italian children aged between 7 and 14 who are illegally active on social media platforms.
Lawyers for Meta and TikTok challenged whether Italian courts have the right to adjudicate on the lawsuit in the first hearing in May, according to a statement from MOIGE, the legal firm representing the families.
It also said that Meta and TikTok “attempted to downplay the scientific significance" of evidence that they produced that they claim shows that both companies “are already aware” of harms that their platforms have on children.
Meta said in a statement to Euronews Next that the company is "consistently making changes to help protect teens," on their platforms.
They "strongly disagree with the allegations," in the Italian lawsuit against them, claiming that it "ignores our longstanding commitment to supporting young people."
Meta mentioned that its Teen Accounts provide default protections for teens, including limits on who can contact them, the content they see and how much time they spend on Facebook and Instagram.
"We stand by our record and will continue to do more to keep young people safe," a spokesperson said.
Euronews Next also reached out to TikTok about these first hearings but did not receive an immediate reply.
The next court date for this case is June 30, with the final date set for November 19, according to the lawyers, who note that comes a day before International Children’s Rights Day.
France
In 2024, a group of French families called Algos Victima sued TikTok over exposing teenagers to harmful content, which led to two suicides
The families allege in the lawsuit that the platform’s algorithm exposed children to content promoting self-harm, eating disorders and suicide.
In November 2025, French prosecutors opened a formal criminal investigation into whether TikTok's algorithms exposed minors to suicide-related content and endangered vulnerable users.
The investigation could cover offences including the promotion of suicide-related content and the unlawful collection of personal data, according to the government.
In May, Algos Victima expanded its suit to include abuse of vulnerability and expanded the number of families represented to 16.
Five of the families are grieving the suicides of their daughters, and the other young people involved suffer from severe eating disorders, depression or suicidal thoughts related to content they have seen on the platform, according to the lawsuit. As of June 2026, no public trial dates have been announced.
United Kingdom
The UK has also become part of the broader wave of litigation targeting social media companies over alleged harms to young users.
The family of Scottish teenager Murray Dowey, who died by suicide in December 2023 after being tricked into sending intimate pictures to an Instagram contact, joined a Delaware lawsuit against Meta for his wrongful death, according to The Guardian.
The Social Media Victims Centre, which filed the complaint, claimed that Dowey’s death and others are the “foreseeable consequence of the deliberate design decisions made by Meta,” it said in a statement in 2025.
The Centre alleges that Meta was aware of a feature that allowed adult strangers to connect with children since 2019, exposing them to predators.
The company also allegedly rejected the researcher's recommendations to default teen accounts to private, which would have prevented approximately 5.4 million direct messages.
This story was updated with comment from Meta.
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